Tracking and take-up tensioning are essential for efficiently driving an endless conveyor belt without excessive wear on the belt. Tracking refers to maintaining proper alignment of the moving belt with the rollers. When the belt is out of alignment, the belt can rub against the sidewall of the conveyor frame. This wear compromises the integrity of the belt, leading to costly and time-consuming maintenance to the conveyor. Tracking in existing conveyors is generally accomplished by adjusting the orientation of the rollers relative to the conveyor frame.
Take-up tensioning refers to maintaining the belt tension necessary to efficiently transfer power from the drive roller to the conveyor belt. Belt tension that is too low causes the drive roller to slip and reduce the energy transferred from the drive roller to the conveyor belt. Belt tension that is too great causes excessive force on the belt, increasing the likelihood that the conveyor belt will break. Tensioning in existing conveyors is generally accomplished by adjusting one or more rollers to stretch the semi-elastic conveyor belt around the end rollers. Alternatively, snub rollers and S-shape roller configurations are used to tension the conveyor belt.
During operation, portions of the conveyor belt are subjected to higher tension because of friction from the drive roller friction and weight from bearing the load of material. Over time, these high-tension areas result in the belt stretching thereby reducing the overall belt tension. Some existing solutions have incorporated a spring to apply tension to the conveyor belt. However, these system generally loop the belt around multiple rollers. Other systems for tensioning and tracking the belt are overly complex resulting in excessive maintenance.